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Last few days for the fundraiser!

8/29/2021

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​We’re at $2085, 70% of the $3000 goal, with just three days to go—and that $2085 came from just 12 people.  Folks, if you’re waiting for “somebody” to donate, guess what? YOU’RE that “somebody!”  We need $915 to meet our goal, so if you’re the procrastinating type, you’re running out of time to donate toward keeping our raptors fed.
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​The no-longer-stargazing red tail was moved to the full raptor flight last week, where he ran around on the ground for several days before finally rediscovering his wings. This morning he flew from one end of the flight to the other—low, but he was flying, so I’m happy. He’s made tremendous progress, as you can see from his intake photo and those taken two days ago. 
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​In new intakes, an adult red shoulder came in with a broken left wing; it feels like it’s far enough away from the joint to be fixable but it’s still pretty swollen so it’s hard to be certain. He came in after my vets had closed on Friday, so we’re aiming at x-rays this week to see if it is indeed fixable. Meanwhile, he’s alert and has a healthy appetite.
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​The juvie sharpie who came in this morning wasn’t as lucky. In addition to a shattered left hip, his left wing had an open fracture with a good inch of bone exposed. He was humanely euthanized.
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​And not content with freeloading off me still, a good two months after their release, the vulture twins invited a third juvie to join them at the LWR buffet. He’s skittish but follows the twins’ lead when around me—albeit at what he considers a safe distance. The now-triplets aren’t around all the time but they’re hysterical to watch when they show up for a handout.
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Late summer lull

8/22/2021

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It was a slow week from both the rehab and the fundraising aspects. The late summer lull is a welcome break before dove season kicks in on Sept, 5, which means a likely influx of wounded raptors, victims of “spray and pray” dove hunters. The lull in donations isn’t as pleasant...

Both MIKIs were released last week; no video or post-release photos, as I simply left their flight pen door open during the day for a couple of days and let them choose when to take their leave. Oddly enough—or maybe not, given the plethora of dragonflies we still have—one is still hanging around the fringes of the hay field. I hear him more often than I see him.
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The fundraiser, with just 9 days left, is currently at $1660; we still need $1340 to meet our goal. That $1660 has come from just 9 donors, y’all. That’s kinda sad that more people haven’t seen fit to donate. “Attagirls” and “God bless yous,” while appreciated, don’t put mice in the freezer to feed our raptors. Thanks to those who’ve donated; to those who’re procrastinating, time’s a-wastin’!
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​The stargazing first-year red tail is currently the sole guest at LWR. He’s doing much better—has moved up to the top perch in the mini-pen and is hopping around on it like a pro. His head tilt is less pronounced. I’m not sure it’ll ever go away entirely but then, I also wasn’t sure he’d make the progress he already has.  He has a great personality—as do most red tails, honestly—and in another week or two we’ll see how he does in the full raptor flight.  Sometimes a little time, a steady food supply, and a safe place to mend are all a bird needs.
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​And the vultures are still hanging around but are much more independent now. I often see them perching in a tall snag in the woods or circling overhead with several wild cousins. They frequently fly down to be nosy when they see me looking up at them—kinda like that old song: “I was lookin’ back to see if you were lookin’ back to see if I was lookin’ back to see if you were lookin’ back at me.”
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​Again, we have just nine days left in the fundraiser and while LWR has few guests at the moment, with the fall migration beginning and first-year birds running into trouble, that number will rise and fall unpredictably into the fall and winter. Let’s make sure the freezer stays full so they can be fed!
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Just over halfway with fundraiser! And various and sundry other news...

8/15/2021

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As of today, we’re at $1560 (52% of the $3000 goal) with 15 days to go. A hearty thanks to those who’ve donated; to those who haven’t, your “mouse money” is also needed!
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​In more good news, the mourning dove was released last week. 
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​And the stargazing red tail is looking less “stargazy” but still tends to run in unsteady circles when he gets excited/stressed. He also managed to reach the low perch last week, for a day. Then it was back to the “ground perch.” Baby steps...I honestly wasn’t sure he’d improve this much, so every little bit of progress is amazing.
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​A first-year Cooper’s hawk—possibly sharpie but I’m thinking Coop; they’re so similar in coloration even as adults—came in with a totally ruptured crop. The bird was rail-thin and, given the bedraggled state of his tail feathers, had been grounded for a while. He was so desperate for food that even with a ruptured crop he’d tried to eat insects. The crop tissue itself was already necrotic—see the circled areas on the photos—so we had nothing to work with as far as attempting to repair it. The bird was humanely euthanized.
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​The MIKIs are ready for release and will be given their freedom as soon as the weather permits. We have a week of predicted rain, so it’ll be late week before rain chances drop to low enough levels to consider releasing them.
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​And, of course, the vultures are still hanging around, although I’m seeing them with adult vultures more and more often. Just this evening, they briefly flew down from a snag where several adults were perched, then headed right back up to be with their own kind. The twins are truly growing up!
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Releases, fundraiser and severe sleep deprivation

8/8/2021

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It was a fairly quiet week rehab-wise, which I’m not complaining about. A series of back-to-back editing deadlines means I’ve had one full night’s sleep since last Sunday; a heavy intake load would’ve put me over the edge!
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The folks whose neighborhood the barred owl came from picked him up Monday evening to release back in his home territory. The screeches were released the following night. I did snap final photos of them before leaving the mini-pen door open, which they wasted no time taking advantage of.
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​Of course, the fundraiser is ongoing for the remainder of the month—or till we meet the goal, whichever comes first. At the moment we’re nearly halfway there, with $1225 of $3000 raised. While baby season is grinding to a halt, now’s the time of year we start getting in injured adults and starving juveniles in larger numbers, so LWR still needs that “mouse money” to keep the freezer full!
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With both flights empty, the red tail and MIKIs headed outdoors, the MIKIs to the raptor flight and the stargazing red tail to the mini-pen.
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The MIKIs are flying well although you’d never know it from any of the photos I attempted last week; this was the best of the lot. Another week or so and they should be good to go.
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​The stargazing red tail had me about ready to throw up my hands and call it. His severe stargazing only seemed to worsen once he was in the mini-pen, his balance is obviously off, and I’ve had to put near-ground-level perches in for him, as he can’t reach the lowest existing perch in there, which is only about two feet off the ground. Add to that the fact that for three days he couldn’t seem to coordinate himself to eat but wouldn’t accept hand-feeding from me, and...well, it wasn’t lookin’ good. I was bracing myself for a hard decision.
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​But yesterday he finally started eating and this morning when I went to feed him he was perched on the side of the water dish and his stargazing was less pronounced, winning him a reprieve. He’s got a loooong way to go before we can talk about release but at least that option’s back on the table now.
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​An adult MIKI was found by the roadside by someone on their way to work at the Base, and when she brought it to LWR, the poor thing’s left leg was literally hanging by a tendon—and the right leg was broken too. Most likely he hit someone’s side-view mirror in hot pursuit of a dragonfly. There was nothing to be done but humanely end his suffering.
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​The nestling mourning dove is now a fledgling mourning dove—stubbornly refuses to self-feed but is otherwise a veritable blur of motion—see for yourselves:
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​The vultures are now soaring with several older black vultures and at least one turkey vulture. They’re still showing up for handouts but seeing them circling overhead, slowing, and diving down to land right in front of me and start growling and bowing for food is a real treat. *sniff* “My babies is all growed up.” And such gorgeous babies they are, too!
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​And now I have to feed everybody, get one more short editing job knocked out, and then hopefully crash early for a full night’s sleep. There’s a reason sleep deprivation is considered torture...
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Keep the freezer filled fundraiser

8/1/2021

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As some of y’all may have noticed, LWR is having a raptor-heavy year. That means an extra-expensive year: We’ve needed rodent orders every 2-3 weeks since February so we can keep these birds fed —and each order has been a minimum of $500. Add to that the boxes, liners, gloves (do y’all KNOW how much exam gloves cost in this Covid-crazed world??? It’s insane!) and other essentials for healthy birds, and we’re running low on funds. I’m aiming at one big fundraiser this month, and if we meet the goal, there won’t be another fundraiser for the remainder of the year. The goal? $3000. I’m counting on y’all to help keep the raptors LWR takes in well-fed!
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​The barred owl who’d been possibly hit by car is ready to go; because he’s an adult and his finders say he’s one of their neighborhood owls, they’re picking him up tomorrow to release back in his home territory.
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​The screeches are also good to go; the mini-pen door will be left open tonight to give them their freedom.
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​The MIKIs are ready to be moved to the raptor flight. Yes, their box is filthy—the photo was taken before I moved them into a clean box because I knew getting a decent shot of them after the stress of being handled would be impossible.
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​The red tail will go in the mini-pen if the screeches seize the freedom offered them tonight. He still stargazes badly, even after steroid injections. This is gonna be a long haul with him, I suspect.
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​In new intakes, a red shoulder pulled from a truck grille had no external injuries but his right shoulder was shattered. He required euthanasia.
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​This sweet little barn swallow leapt or was shoved from the nest at my grandparents’ house I’m renovating and when the parents didn’t coax him to a safe place after an hour and sunset was approaching, I brought him home with me for safekeeping overnight, with the goal of reuniting him with his sibs ASAP. Sadly, the poor fellow died overnight.
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​A barred owl was found in the road with a broken wing. Unfortunately, it was an open fracture and the bird required euthanasia.
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​Yesterday evening, as mammal rehabber Charydi Gambill was on her way home from work, she saw a blue jay attacking this nestling mourning dove. Seeing no nest around, she retrieved the dove and brought it to LWR. His crop was hard as a rock, which had me worried he might also check out overnight, but he’s doing well and his crop feels normal again today.
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​And of course, we can’t end without an update on the black vultures, recently released and now inviting their friends to the party. Three times this week I’ve seen two adult black vultures hanging out with the twins, and at least once a turkey vulture joined the festivities. Meanwhile, I’m threatening to give my family exam gloves and trash bags for when they see fresh road kill...
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